The need for innovation and longevity in technology
Thirteen seems to be the unlucky number for Apple, with a decline in iPhone sales leading to the first revenue decline in 13 years. This has been attributed in part to the struggling Chinese economy, still the second-largest market in the world for Apple products behind the USA. The iPhone accounts for nearly two-thirds of Apple’s revenue. However the company sold 16% fewer iPhones than it had during the same period in 2015 and made 18% less profit from them. The total tally for the device was $32.9bn from 51.2m phones sold; the year previous Apple brought in $40.3bn from 61.2m phones.
So what is exactly driving the first annual revenue decline since 2001? Perhaps the entry price of the smartphone in the developing world is still a barrier, even among very inexpensive devices. The iPhone smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. run Apple’s iOS mobile operating system with the first generation iPhone being released on June 29, 2007. Followed by the iPad, and both were constantly updated with new, highly-anticipated iterations which sold in their hundreds of millions around the world, sending the company’s sales to ever soaring heights. A year ago Apple sold $58bn worth of gadgets, this equates to nearly $650m a day in the first three months of the year.
The Apple Watch has been publicized by the company as a multi-billion dollar business, rivaling many classic watch brands. Thus So far Apple has not delivered a breakout detailing the number of units sold per quarter. Instead the Apple Watch revenue has been combined with other products including the iPod, Apple TV, and Beats. Samsung shipped 0.4 million of its Gear and Gear2 watches in both 2015 and 2016. However Garmin was the only brand to show growth with shipments of 0.6 million in the third quarter of 2016 compared with 0.1 million in 2015.
Apple has promised some “amazing innovations” in the pipeline. Such as new headphone ports which are dust-proof and waterproof, and the redesign of key buttons. Are these innovations going far enough and will the brand achieve longevity? Many see Apple’s iPhone 7 objective as a premium product and not innovation. The products no longer have their unique appeal and a point of mental saturation has been reached.
Google self-driving car project
In the battle for longevity, constant new ideas and innovation sees one stand out diverse innovation are the Google self-driving cars, this represents a new breed of autonomous cars, developed by Google X as part of its project to develop technology for mainly electric cars. The vehicles are taught to navigate through many complicated scenarios on city streets.
These cars use their sensors and software to sense objects like pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles and more and are designed to safely drive around them. The cars use sensors and software to detect objects like pedestrians, cyclists, other vehicles and more (e.g. How to navigate through construction zones), and are designed to safely drive around them. The development has been initiated since 2009 and the work is building towards vehicles that take you to a destination at the push of a button. Components have been added to existing cars like Lexus SUVs, the next step sees designing of a new prototype from the ground up to better explore what should go into a fully self-driving vehicle. This includes removing the steering wheel and pedals, and incorporating software and sensors which will handle the driving.
FTI and innovation
At the heart of the range of products Falcon Technologies International L.L.C., FTI offer is Innovation. Innovation is the key driving force behind our product diversity. FTI has always believed that a strong culture of innovation, in all areas of the company, is an essential contributor to business success. High quality R&D has historically been at the foundation of FTI since it’s inception in 2005, and the company has consistently invested in extensive and innovative product R&D, and in acquiring a world-class, in-house knowledge base at the forefront of the optical digital media technology landscape. With the aim of market longevity and creativity today FTI continues to engage in cutting-edge R&D, internally and in collaboration with partners in academia, research and commerce.
FalconMedia SOUND suits both professional and amateur recording requirements, whether mass producing an audio CD, recording a concert master copy, or facilitating the amateur musician who wants to produce and sell his music on a smaller scale.
FTI’s culture of R&D and innovation go hand-in-hand, with our central commitment to new product development, process and manufacturing improvements, segmented market research and advancements in the science of Optical Digital Media key indicators of how innovation runs through the fabric of FTI’s operations.